Sumitomo Electric and EV Safe Charge collaborate on a new app for EVs

Through the new smartphone app, Sumitomo and EV safe charge app are looking to make the EVs consumer-friendly

Sumitomo Electric Industries and EV Safe Charge will collaborate on a new mobile app to enable electric vehicle (EV) drivers to experience the optimal road trip. During any journey, the EV Safe Charge app, powered by Sumitomo Electric will provide users with features such as benefits from hotel and restaurant partners and specialised travel coordination. The app has been unveiled at CES 2019.

The pertinent features being developed for EV drivers will go beyond mapping chargers and provide data about when to charge based on altitude, weather, and other factors to alleviate ‘range anxiety’ – the fear among consumers that an EV has insufficient range to reach its destination, which is cited as an obstacle to widespread adoption of all-electric vehicles. Key to the collaboration, the companies are beginning to work with automotive OEMs to integrate these app features directly into EV models as well.

Through this collaboration, the companies are looking to fill the need for an elevated EV experience during short and longer range trips. Koichi Washimi, general manager, Systems & Electronics Division at Sumitomo Electric said, “As we see throughout CES 2019, the new world of ‘Connected, Autonomous, Shared, Electric’ (CASE) is creating a dramatic shift in mobility and accelerating EV driver demands. For our part, we want EV drivers to be able to leverage our technology to improve their on-road experience throughout the United States, where the app is initially launching and much of this CASE innovation is happening.”

Sumitomo Electric claims to have invested significant R&D resources into the EV domain for many years, applying know-how in energy management, charging solutions, and route guidance to continually make driving more comfortable for EV owners. Sumitomo Electric has more than 50 years of experience with traffic control systems in Japan, helping make roads safe in some of the most crowded driving environments in the world. The company also develops Cloud-based telematics services that so far have been used globally by over 20 million drivers through their in-vehicle navigation systems or smartphones. These services are built on various technologies the company has for generating high-precision traffic information and for predicting traffic conditions.

Caradoc Ehrenhalt, founder and CEO, EV Safe Charge said, “We share a mutual vision for the future of EV driving and are eager to create an unparalleled EV driver experience. The development of this app is another milestone for our emerging company, which is well-positioned to capitalize on continued EV hyper growth.”

EV Safe Charge is committed to enhancing the EV driver experience from installation to mobile solutions. In February 2018, the company introduced EV Charge Mobile, said to be the industry’s first comprehensive rental service to offer Level 2 and DC Fast Charging for temporary on-site EV charging at events or any location.

EV Safe Charge, which is currently seeking investors for its Series A round of financing, has been named an LA Auto Show and AutoMobility LA Top 10 Startup and a Pepperdine Most Fundable Company.